Door.



J. OBRIEN & A. A. LUEKE.

DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED DBO. 13, 1912.

Patented Jan. 27, 1914.

I HI IIIHIIIIIIHIIIIHHIlllllunw Adel @5196 OZriem OF LOUISVILLE,KENTUCKY, ASSIG-NORS, BY

MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO ALFRED ISENBERG, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

DOOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 27, 191a.

Appilcation filed December 13, 1912. Serial No. 736,627.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JAMES OBRIEN and ADoLrH A. LU'EKE, citizens of theUnited States, residing at Louisville, in the county of Jelferson andState of Kentucky, have invented new and useful Improvements in Doors,of which the following is a speclfication.

This invention relates to improvements in doors such as are commonlyemployed in elevators, freight cars, buildings, ships and otherstructures and has particular application to that type of door employinga number of sections slidalole one upon the other to open and close thedoorway which the door controls.

In carrying out the present invention, it is our purpose to provide adoor of the class described wherein in the sliding movement of the firstsection to open and closed positions, such section will travel at aspeed greater than that of the adjacent section so that a uniformity ofmovement will be brought about between the sections constituting thedoor when the sections are operated to open and closed positions andwherein the sections may be operated quickly and with ease and facility.

It is also our purpose to provide a looking means through the medium ofwhich the closing position, the locking means being constructed in suchmanner as to operate antomatically and lock the door in closed positionimmediately succeeding the movement of the sections of the door to suchposition.

Furthermore, we aim to provide a mecha nism by means of which thesliding sections of the door may be operated at the relative speedsaforesaid and which will embrace the desired features of simplicity,efliciency, durability and strength coupled with cheapness of cost inmanufacture and which may be applied to any type of sectional slidingdoor in use.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in theconstruction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter set forthin and falling within the scope of the claim.

In the accompanying drawing; Figure 1 is a rear elevation of a sectionaldoor equipped with the present invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontalsectional view on the line the section 5 to open the purpose a bar orlever vtremity fulcrumed or sections of the door may be locked in doorlength a guide 9 22 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a detail view of thelocking mechanism.

Referring now to the accompanying drawmg in detail, the numerals 1, 1designate the door jambs of the frame of the door opening, while 2indicates the door as an entirety composed, in the present instance, ofsections 3, 4 and 5, the sections 3 and 4 being adapted to slide oneupon the other and upon the section 5, while the latter is connected bymeans of hinges 6 to one of the jambs 1 so that, when the occasionarises, the door may be swung to an open position to leave the dooropening unobstructed.

In the ordinary use of the door, the section 3 is slid upon the sectionat and the latter together with the first section slid upon doorway andmoved in a reverse direction to close the doorway. In accordance withthe present invention, we employ a mechanism whereby the first sectionmay, in the movement of the door to to open and closed positions, slideupon the second or adjacent section at a speed greater than that of thesecond. section in sliding upon the last or stationary section of thedoor. In the present instance, we employ for this 7 having one expivotedupon a pin 8 fastened in any suitable manner to the hinged edge of thesection 5 of the door, adjacent to the lower end of such edge. Thesection 4 of the door has connected in any suitable manner at the rearedge thereof at a point approximately cent-rally of its designed toreceive a pin 10 carried by the bar or lever 7 and extending outwardlyof one side thereof, while the rear edge of the section 3 of the dooradjacent to the upper end thereof has appropriately connected thereto aguide 11 designed to receive a pin 12 fastened to the free end of thelever or bar 7 and extending outwardly of the side of the bar oppositefrom the pin 10. By arranging the pins to extend in relatively oppositedirections, the lever, when connected with the respective sections ofthe door, is disposed in an out of the way position and nicely fitted ordisposed in operated position. By connecting the guide 11 to the rearedge of the section 3 or first section of the door adjacent to the topof such section and the guide 9 to the rear edge of the second oradjacent section at a point approximately centrally of the height ofsuch section, the first section of the door in its movement to open andclosed positions travels at a speed approximately twice as great as thatof the adjacent or second section of the door, owing to the fact thatthe radius or distance from the pivot point of the lever to the secondsection of the door is in direct proportion to the radius from thecenter of the second section to the top edge of the first section. Thus,when the section 3 of the door is actuated to slide to an open position,such section travels at a speed greater than that of the second section,while when the sections of the door are moved to closed position, thefirst section travels at a relatively great speed as compared with thatof the second section.

In order to lock the sections of the door in closed position and tobring about such looking action-automatically, suitable locking means isemployed. In this case, a lever 13 is pivoted at a point between itsends upon a pin 14: carried by the guide 11 adjacentto the top edge ofthe first section of the door. One end of the lever 13 has the upperedge thereof rounded as at 15 and is normally held in the path ofmovement of the adjacent part of the lever or bar 7 by means of asuitable form of spring 16 carried by the guide, while the opposite endof such lever 13 is equipped with a weight or the like 17 which acts tohold the lever normally in a horizontal position. Thus, when theoperator wishes to open the door, that is slide the sections relativelyto one another to clear the doorway, the weighted end of the lever 13 isdepressed whereby the locking end thereof is moved out of the path ofmovement of the bar or lever 7 so that the latter may operate asaforesaid, the spring 16 restoring the locking lever to normal positionupon such lever being released by the operator. In the movement of thesections of the door to closed position, the lower edge of the bar orlever 7 engages the rounded edge 15 of the locking lever 13 and soswings the latter about the pivot pin 1e so that the bar or lever 7 mayassume its proper position. WVhen the rounded end of the locking leveris relieved of the influence of the bar, such lever is restored tolocking position by means of the'weight 17 and prevents accidentalsliding of the door sections.

WVhile we have herein shown and described one preferred form of ourinvention by way of illustration, we wish it to be understood that we donot limit or confine ourselves to the precise details of constructionherein described and delineated as modification and variation may bemade within the scope of the claim and without departing from the spiritof the invention.

WVe claim:

The combination with a door comprising a number of sections adapted toslide one upon the other, of a lever movable about a fixed fulcrum,connections between said lever-and sliding sections at relativelydifferent points first section will move at a greater speed than theadjacent section, a locking lever pivoted to said first section adjacentto one end and adapted for swinging movement in a vertical plane andnormally resting in a horizontal plane and having the upper cornerthereof adjacent to the pivotal connection rounded and disposed in thepath of movement of said lever whereby when the sections are extendedthe lever will be locked automatically, a weight on the free end of saidlocking lever for returning the same to locking position succeeding theengagement of with the rounded end of the second lever, and a spring forholding said lever normally in looking position. 1

In testimony whereof we afifix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses. 7

JAMES OBRIEN. ADOLPH A. LUEKE.

whereby the Witnesses:

FLonnN on G. TRINLER, JULIA E. CURTIS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, .byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. G.

the first-mentioned lever,

